UPS Financial News

As gig workers’ unions organized a strike on New Year’s Eve demanding better working conditions, several people took to X and other social media platforms to debate the value of gig work in India’s economy.Zomato founder Deepinder Goyal and InfoEdge founder Sanjeev Bikhchandani (also a Zomato investor) argued that gig work was valuable, pointing out that the strike had clearly failed. Others including Aam Aadmi Party leader Raghav Chadha met gig workers on strike in Delhi, supporting their demands for better working conditions.Zomato's food delivery partners workforce grew 18% CAGR (compound annual growth rate) from FY22 to FY25.

private sector banks including HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, and YES Bank are set to kickstart the third-quarter earnings season from 17 January.Non-food credit for the banking sector grew almost 12% on year as on 15 December, according to latest data from the Reserve Bank of India, driven by a consumption-led recovery and supportive regulatory measures. This was up from around 9% in May.“Growth momentum has strengthened over the past few months and credit cycle has seen a meaningful pickup after GST cuts…with the full 100 bps CRR (cash reserve ratio) cut now in place and recent supportive regulatory measures, further support to credit expansion expected ahead,” Motilal Oswal Financial Services said in a pre-earnings note.Pre-quarterly updates from lenders suggest this momentum has sustained into the December quarter, even as deposit growth has lagged, at a little over 9% on year.Macquarie Research flagged that the loan-to-deposit ratio (LDR) for the banking system has climbed to over 81%, the highest level on record.

I’m a OCI cardholder and graphic designer by occupation. I came to India in July 2025 for taking up several regional film projects as a consultant and I plan to stay through the financial year. I’m continuing to do consulting work right now even for outside India clients. Whatever fees that I earn from those clients, I take it in my foreign bank account. Would those fees become taxable in India even if I don’t remit them to my Indian bank account?- Name withheld on requestAt the outset, it is necessary to determine your residential status in India for the financial year 2025–26 under the provisions of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (ITA).If your stay in India during the relevant financial year aggregates to 182 days or more, you would be regarded as a resident in India for tax purposes.

This is the season when columnists turn to prophecy and then congratulate themselves a year later for getting some of it right. I’m afraid I am about to join the club. As I predicted at the end of last year, Asia in 2025 revolved around three main forces: the blossoming bromance between US President Donald Trump and China’s Xi Jinping, rising pressure on Taiwan, and a newly emboldened Kim Jong Un drawing closer to both Moscow and Beijing.These dynamics will only get more obvious in 2026.

Stock market recap: Indian equities ended Friday, 2 January, on a strong note, led by broad-based buying amid rising optimism ahead of the Q3 earnings season.The Nifty 50 scaled a fresh intraday high of 26,340 and went on to settle at a record closing high of 26,328.55, up 182 points, or 0.70%. The Sensex rose 573 points, or 0.67%, to close at 85,762.01.

₹1.77 trillion, surpassing the 2024 high of ₹1.73 trillion.“A key catalyst was the primary market cycle, including widely recognised names such as Tata Capital, Meesho, Lenskart, LG Electronics, PhysicsWallah and ICICI Prudential–where familiar brands significantly lowered entry barriers for first-time investors across smaller towns,” said Ankit Mandholia, head equity and derivatives, wealth management at Motilal Oswal Financial Services.The growth in new investors from some of these states comes even as the active investor count has fallen from the post-pandemic highs amid global uncertainty and the Sebi’s crackdown against retail trading in the futures and options (F&O) markets.While state-wise data for individual investors is not available, the number of investors pan-India who traded in the cash segment at least once a year fell 8% in 2025. But those trading in the equity derivatives segment fell 25%, showed NSE data, indicating that new investors are participating in the cash market.Across regions, the entry pattern is consistent: the vast majority of new investors begin in cash equities and IPOs, while F&O participation remains a relatively small fraction, said Arief Mohamad, chief business officer-direct business, Angel One.

Mumbai: If searing heat is an annual feature of the Indian summer, air pollution is fast settling into a permanent fixture of winter. For companies that sell both air-conditioners (ACs) and air purifiers, sales and marketing now fall into two neatly-distinct seasons—summer for ACs and winter for air purifiers, a much smaller category. Given this sharp seasonality, how do marketing heads manage their business when demand peaks so unevenly through the year? Girish Hingorani, vice-president of marketing at Blue Star, tells Mint it is all about planning the year carefully and efficiently.

US operation in the South American nation should drive crude oil lower over time which should be positive for India, said Ashish Gupta, chief investment officer of Axis Mutual Fund. He added that he did not expect a knee-jerk reaction from markets at opening on Monday.“In the past two to three years, markets have not reacted significantly to geopolitical events whether in Europe or West Asia and I don't expect one after the Venezuela takeover either.

The key is not prediction, but preparation, Gupta told Mint in an interview. “That’s why you hold gold or silver allocations: not to time them, but because you can’t.”The biggest risk remains macro concerns, she said, adding that trade deals, both for India and globally, are critical.If they don’t materialise, the environment could turn inflationary, something already visible in early signs from the US,” she said. “If India’s trade deal isn’t concluded by March, conditions could get tougher.”Another key risk is a lack of earnings revival, Gupta pointed out.

New Delhi: The country’s second-largest battery manufacturer, Amara Raja Energy and Mobility Ltd, is betting on expansion in the US market as part of its bid to double the share of revenue from exports in the next five years.The Hyderabad-based auto ancillary firm is doubling down on building a local distribution network in the North American market to benefit from its edge in one of the advanced technologies in the lead acid battery industry to win incremental business at a time when tariffs in the US have brought uncertainty for Indian businesses, according to a top executive.“One of the most exciting opportunities, especially on the lead acid side, is building ourselves up in North America. That's where we see certain technology trends like a move towards AGM (Absorbent Glass Mat) batteries,” Harshavardhana Gourineni, executive director at Amara Raja, told Mint.“We're the only manufacturer in India that's supplying AGM batteries to the OEMs.

₹37 trillion. Also, only 66 of the 291 operational central PSUs were listed on India's stock exchanges.The listed companies had a market capitalization of ₹38.57 trillion as of 31 March 2025, according to the department of public sector enterprises.Panda said that the 22-member parliamentary panel plans to review close to two dozen public sector enterprises by the end of its current term, compared to four in the last year of the previous Lok Sabha. COPU, comprising 15 Lok Sabha members and seven Rajya Sabha members, is reconstituted every year.The current 18th Lok Sabha has a five-year tenure that began in June 2024.Panda said that the committee, in its first year—August 2024 to April 2025—under his chairmanship in the current Lok Sabha delivered 12 reports, a three-fold increase from the reports presented in the panel's last year in the previous Lok Sabha.

₹599 and ₹999 per person, with Perspectives taking a 20% commission.If the loneliness economy has a defining characteristic, it is that many of its founders did not arrive with market research or business plans. Most began by trying to solve a personal, unmet need.Originally from Tamil Nadu’s textile hub of Tiruppur, Krishna Rubiga moved to Chennai for work in 2024 and struggled to make friends. Singles mixers felt crowded and transactional.

Dear reader,Happy New Year!Last week, I wrote monthly derivatives expiry and calendar year-end could cap gains in the markets, which otherwise showed signs of optimism. Read that piece here. The Nifty managed to test new highs and is now in blue sky territory.

Mumbai: Come January, thousands of people across India will be getting into their running shoes, perfecting their pace, getting together for practice runs in the morning, perhaps exchanging notes on their performance, sharing Strava screenshots of their completed runs, all to line up in the wee hours for one of the tens of major marathons India’s major cities will host this month and the next.Distance running—from the humble 3K and 5K for beginners to the humbling half- and full-marathons—has slowly become a national obsession as getting fit becomes aspirational. Nearly all of India’s major cities are host to at least one major marathon with an impressive title sponsor, while smaller cities and towns too begin hosting local races.More than 20 years after the Mumbai Marathon was started and became India’s biggest running event, distance running has become a serious business enterprise, generating hundreds of crores in direct revenue from participation fees and sponsorships along with additional money made from participants buying goods and travelling to these races.Marathons and other distance running events are driving annual revenue of ₹250-300 crore in the sale of clothes and shoes, travel, hotels and other components of the ‘running economy’, according to a September 2025 report by consulting firm KPMG.

₹10,000 could be put in tax-saving mutual funds. The rest had to go elsewhere — PPF, insurance, NSC, whatever. The government, in its wisdom, had decided that equity mutual funds were risky and citizens needed protection from their own enthusiasm.

, meanwhile, are looking for novel ways to connect with customers in the country’s uber-competitive market. People are flocking to factory tours hosted by EV maker NIO, dairy manufacturer Mengniu, brewer Tsingtao and others.Xiaomi, a top phone maker that launched its first EV in 2024, began offering its public tours after receiving requests from customers.

The start of the year is a good time to make a resolution to get your finances in order, but start by setting the right goals.How you frame your resolutions is crucial to your likelihood of achieving them.People “with approach-oriented goals were significantly more successful in sustaining their New Year’s resolutions compared to those with avoidance-oriented goals,” according to one study by a professor of psychology at Stockholm University, Sweden, and others. So, come up with goals about what you want to achieve rather than something you wish to avoid.Think: I will build an emergency fund, rather than: I want to avoid a financial crunch.Another key is to start with a small step.“You can’t just randomly, on 1 January, change yourself,” said Krishna Rath, a Bhubaneshwar-based registered investment adviser with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi).

EV users as well as technical and maintenance support for commercial fleets,” said the first official.The ministry of road transport and highways (MoRTH) is examining changes to its guidelines for way-side amenities (WSAs) on expressways to formally include EV-focused infrastructure, including rapid diagnostics, minor repairs, battery support, towing and real-time assistance through integrated control centres, the second official said, adding that the under-construction 1,300-km Delhi–Mumbai Expressway is likely to be the first long-distance corridor where the model could be rolled out, providing an end-to-end EV-supportive route between two major metropolitan regions.“The idea is to move beyond charging points and create a full ecosystem that supports EV users on highways, similar to how air traffic control and ground handling work together in aviation,” said the first official. “Control and command centres can coordinate roadside assistance, track vehicle issues, manage response times and offer confidence to EV users undertaking intercity travel.”Queries emailed to MoRTH, National Highways Authority of India, and EV makers Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, Hyundai, Kia, and JSW MG on 31 December remained unanswered.Since the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway is an access-controlled expressway, a commuter expects the EV charging infrastructure along the route for convenience, said Ashish Modani, senior vice-president and group head, Icra.

Mint explains why this winter surge matters, after a year in which power consumption remained weaker than expected due to a prolonged monsoon.Power demand typically rises during December and January as colder temperatures increase the use of heating appliances. This year, a sharp cold wave across Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Delhi and Madhya Pradesh pushed up electricity consumption, with temperatures dropping to as low as 4 degrees Celsius in some areas.

On Christmas Eve, Nvidia announced a deal to license technology, acquire assets, and hire key team members from AI chip startup Groq. Valued at $20 billion, the deal is one of the largest in the sector and has reignited concerns about a possible AI investment bubble and ‘circular financing’ by companies in the space.However, there are positive signs as well.

₹702 crore, KHIL’s year-on-year revenue growth went from negative figures in FY20 and 2021 to ₹10.2 crore and ₹10.8 crore in the subsequent post-lockdown years. Their profits went from approximately ₹25 crore in 2020 to ₹312 crore in 2023. “We had our value really down before covid,” Vishal says, “now it’s come up.